Big Cities with Cheap Rent

Colin GrubbNov 20, 2017

As the housing market has continued to recover since 2009, rental rates have been steadily rising. One of the main contributing factors is the dwindling supply of homes on the market as would-be sellers are electing to stay in their homes longer.

As home prices continue to rise, many prospective buyers are getting priced out and are forced to stay in the rental market longer. This in turn drives up rental prices and drives down vacancy rates. Consequently, rent as a percentage of income has increased to 29.2% in Q2 2017, up from the 1985-2000 historic rate of 25.8%.

In general, those in big cities have been affected the most, with average rental prices routinely topping $1,000/month for a 1 bedroom apartment. With that in mind, ConsumersAdvocate.org decided to see which big cities still offered reasonable rental prices.

Methodology

To determine which U.S. cities had the cheapest rent, researchers at ConsumersAdvocate.org used data from the American Community Survey’s 2016 1-year estimates to see which cities with populations over 500k had the lowest median gross rent for a 1 bedroom apartment. The American Community Survey defines “median gross rent” as “as the rent contract plus the estimated average monthly cost of utilities and fuels.”

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

20. Nashville, Tennessee

Median Rent for 1 Bedroom: $865

Median Rent (all unit sizes): $979

Median Rent as a % of Income (all unit sizes): 28.4%

Population: 660,393

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

19. Houston, Texas

Median Rent for 1 Bedroom: $855

Median Rent (all unit sizes): $952

Median Rent as a % of Income (all unit sizes): 30.9%

Population: 2,304,388

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

18. Dallas, Texas

Median Rent for 1 Bedroom: $847

Median Rent (all unit sizes): $935

Median Rent as a % of Income (all unit sizes): 28.4%

Population: 1,317,942

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

17. Fort Worth, Texas

Median Rent for 1 Bedroom: $824

Median Rent (all unit sizes): $974

Median Rent as a % of Income (all unit sizes): 29.1%

Population: 855,897

Photo Credit: GoodFreePhotos

16. Baltimore, Maryland

Median Rent for 1 Bedroom: $812

Median Rent (all unit sizes): $999

Median Rent as a % of Income (all unit sizes): 29.6%

Population: 614,664

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

15. San Antonio, Texas

Median Rent for 1 Bedroom: $797

Median Rent (all unit sizes): $924

Median Rent as a % of Income (all unit sizes): 29.8%

Population: 1,492,494

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

14. Phoenix, Arizona

Median Rent for 1 Bedroom: $768

Median Rent (all unit sizes): $960

Median Rent as a % of Income (all unit sizes): 29.4%

Population: 1,615,041

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

13. Jacksonville, Florida

Median Rent for 1 Bedroom: $766

Median Rent (all unit sizes): $980

Median Rent as a % of Income (all unit sizes): 29%

Population: 880,623

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

12. Columbus, Ohio

Median Rent for 1 Bedroom: $720

Median Rent (all unit sizes): $882

Median Rent as a % of Income (all unit sizes): 28.1%

Population: 862,643

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

11. Las Vegas, Nevada

Median Rent for 1 Bedroom: $713

Median Rent (all unit sizes): $996

Median Rent as a % of Income (all unit sizes): 32.5%

Population: 632,916

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

10. Memphis, Tennessee

Median Rent for 1 Bedroom: $706

Median Rent (all unit sizes): $857

Median Rent as a % of Income (all unit sizes): 33%

Population: 652,752

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

9. Fresno, California

Median Rent for 1 Bedroom: $702

Median Rent (all unit sizes): $913

Median Rent as a % of Income (all unit sizes): 36.8%

Population: 522,021

Photo Credit: pxhere

8. Indianapolis, Indiana

Median Rent for 1 Bedroom: $699

Median Rent (all unit sizes): $835

Median Rent as a % of Income (all unit sizes): 30.9%

Population: 852,506

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

7. Albuquerque, New Mexico

Median Rent for 1 Bedroom: $677

Median Rent (all unit sizes): $809

Median Rent as a % of Income (all unit sizes): 31.6%

Population: 559,270

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

6. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Median Rent for 1 Bedroom: $662

Median Rent (all unit sizes): $802

Median Rent as a % of Income (all unit sizes): 27.6%

Population: 638,311

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

5. Milwaukee City, Wisconsin

Median Rent for 1 Bedroom: $654

Median Rent (all unit sizes): $809

Median Rent as a % of Income (all unit sizes): 32%

Population: 595,070

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

4. El Paso, Texas

Median Rent for 1 Bedroom: $637

Median Rent (all unit sizes): $778

Median Rent as a % of Income (all unit sizes): 30.3%

Population: 683,088

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

3. Louisville, Kentucky

Median Rent for 1 Bedroom: $626

Median Rent (all unit sizes): $785

Median Rent as a % of Income (all unit sizes): 28.3%

Population: 616,261

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

2. Tucson, Arizona

Median Rent for 1 Bedroom: $606

Median Rent (all unit sizes): $783

Median Rent as a % of Income (all unit sizes): 32.7%

Population: 530,690

Photo Credit: Wikimedia

1. Detroit, Michigan

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